The Fight For The City
by XelixAhture
Summary: This is told from the perspective of a KG officer. You get to meet the members of the underground in a new light. Begins near the end of Jak 2 and continues into Jak 3. I suck at summaries. There's a Torn pairing in here somewhere too. Idk who I want him to be with yet. Jak, an OC, or maybe Ashlin? We'll see. Comment with your thoughts!
1. Chapter 1: The KG Soldier

**So, I've recently become very obsessed with the Jak series again and I am needing an outlet. Here's a look into the life in the city from a background perspective. We get to know more of the characters with more personal moments and I've given more attention to the characters that didn't get enough recognition, in my opinion *cough*Tess*cough*. Anyway, I hope you like it! Please review! Reviews make me update faster!**

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Senra fixed her gaze onto the sight in front of her. There was a boy, and another... boy. They looked to be siblings, blonde-green hair, lightly tanned skin, deep blue eyes.

She flinched as her commander gave the order to fire. On the young man and the child.

"Take them down!" He barked, the other guards ran without question, following their commander. She just stood there, rooted to the spot. Shoot a child? She couldn't. But she had to. She took a tentative step forward.

The air around her suddenly crackled and a loud roar interrupted her thoughts. She gaped like a fish out of water and was grateful that her crimson helmet hid her stunned expression.

The man had turned into a monster. Horns protruded from his skull and claws extended from his fingertips. What was he?

She took several steps back, watching him slice through the armor her comrades wore. The steel plates and eco insulated suits did nothing to protect them.

It wasn't long before they were all torn down and the young man changed back. He staggered a few feet towards the boy, who in turn pointed to where Senra stood.

The man turned, brows pulled together and a scowl contorting his lips. He took a step towards her and she slowly lowered her rifle so that the barrel pointed to the ground. The man froze, eyeing her suspiciously.

Shakily, she placed her hand over her earpiece and pressed the talk button. "The target has escaped," She murmured, trying to keep her voice steady.

The man seemed to understand and nodded, taking the boy and leaving with one last glance in her direction.

* * *

Senra stepped out of her armor so that she was wearing only the skinsuit underneath. The thick black material fitting to her body uncomfortably.

A few women chattered nearby about the city races as they dressed for their own shifts, confidently stripping out of their street clothes and tugging on their skinsuits.

She blushed as she looked away. She didn't have it in her to undress in front of others. She shut her locker and made her way out the door and into the main hallway, her bag slung over her shoulder loosely.

Walking with her head down, she didn't notice when the leader of Alpha squad that day stepped in front of her. She would have run into him if she hadn't seen his feet.

"I hear you let that fugative get away," Daze growled, his voice rough.

"He killed my entire squad," She muttered, glancing to the side, keeping her face as calm as possible.

"Yet you don't have a single scratch on you?" It wasn't really a question.

She met his eyes but didn't say anything.

"I suggest that you be careful." He turned partially away from her, as if to leave. "You know what happens to deserters. Especially after Torn left."

She nodded, keeping her cool while her heart thundered in her chest. "Yes, I know." She didn't meet his eyes until after the words left her mouth.

Daze nodded, his eyes showing some dark emotion. Malice? Anger? Suspicion? She didn't get to study it that long as he turned away and stalked down the hall to her left.

She grit her teeth and made her way out the building hurriedly.

* * *

The Hip Hog was always one of her least favorite places to be, with Krew floating about and smelling. Thankfully, he was away in his room tonight which left the air considerably nicer. She only came here because this was the cheapest place she could get drinks, and for that she was grateful.

Tess was seated next to Senra, which wasn't allowed, but since Krew was away, that left the rules up in the air.

"So you say that he seemed to threaten you?" Tess asked, her head propped up on her elbow which was on the table.

"Yeah," She sighed. "I didn't get a scratch on me, so that makes it look like I intentionally let that guy get away. Which I guess I did..." She mumbled the last part, but Tess seemed to hear it.

"Try not to worry," The blonde laid a hand on her shoulder. "At least you're alive. They could kill you, but you would have died anyway. This way, you have more time at least."

She gaped at the bartender. "Wow," She growled through her teeth. "Thanks Tess. You're really helpful."

"No, hear me out." Tess scooted in her chair so that she was facing Senra directly. "You can escape with your life. So long as you're alive now, you've always got a chance. You could always join the underground like that last guy who escaped the guard with his life."

"No one's been able to get out alive since him though."

"So, just don't go home. Don't go to work. Don't let them find you. They're too focused on other things right now anyway."

Senra sighed, staring into her half empty drink. "I don't know. The underground might not even be for me anyway."

"Just think about it," Tess patted her arm comfortingly. "It sure beats dying." She got up and went to serve a pair of loud men in the next table over who had been shouting for her attention.

Senra grumpily stared into her drink and gulped the last of it down, leaving some money on the table for Tess to collect later. With that, she stood up and left the building. Just as she was getting to the door, she saw a blonde man walk in with a furious expression on his face. It was the same man from earlier in the slums. The one protecting the child.

She stared, wide eyed as he gave her a weirded out expression. There was some orange rat on his shoulder who gave her the same look. This startled her a little and she blinked multiple times and watched as they strolled right up to Tess.

Senra felt her chest tighten as she watched them greet each other fondly. Her blood ran cold when Tess said something and pointed at Senra, causing the man to give her a curious expression.

She bolted out the door. Had Tess told that man that Senra was the one who spared him? Why would she do that? Weren't they supposed to be friends? She found the nearest public zoomer and tossed some coins into it as a rental fee and shot off, back into the city and towards her apartment.

No way was she trusting Tess and joining the Underground.

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 **Please, please leave a review and let me know what you think! I'd really appreciate it. You're all lovely c:**


	2. Chapter 2: The Dark Warrior

**I feel like I may have rushed this chapter, but whatever. Sue me. I am trying to make Senra seem an "anyone" type of character, in honor of my favorite author, but I don't know how I'm pulling it off. I didn't even want to name her, but I didn't really know what else to call her so...**

 **In this chapter, you get to see some Jak! I hope I kept him in character for the most part. I dunno. I'm self conscious. Whatever. Here's your smelly chapter. (I love you guys.)**

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"Did you hear that the tomb of Mar was found?"

Senra looked up suddenly. It was some girl from Beta squad. She seated herself next to Senra without asking and plopped her bag on the table in front of her, upsetting the soup Senra had been trying to eat.

Sighing, she used her napkin to clean up the small amount of broth that had spilled and she turned her eyes to the girl next to her. Keeping her face neutral and listening patiently.

"The tomb was right under the statue of the barron! Can you believe it?"

Senra furrowed her brows. "But then wouldn't the barron have known it was there already? I thought he's been searching for it for years."

The girl shrugged. "We also got some info from Torn himself."

She raised an eyebrow.

"We learned that they were going to make a move so we moved in and also managed to capture the leader of the underground. The Shadow."

"And what do you know, that leaves Torn pretty much in charge." Senra mumbled, taking a bite of the bland food in front of her.

"Would you believe it?" The girl smirked. "It's almost like it was a part of his plan."

"I heard the Barron blackmailed him." She said through a mouthful of food. _At least we can count on the barron to supply eco to metal heads and then take them out after throwing hundreds of KG soldiers at them._ She thought, chewing her food slowly. Would it really be so bad to join the underground? Sure, Tess had told the guy, but she could count on Tess, right? She'd always trusted her since they went to school together. They hadn't seen each other in the past three years as often as they had in school, so she felt that they'd drifted apart, but Tess couldn't be that bad. It wasn't like she worked for the underground herself. Even though she had known that man and hadn't even mentioned that to Senra before hand.

The girl was rambling on about why she thought the Underground was bad and Senra found a counterargument in her mind for each point. Her mind drifted to the order to kill the kid. It drifted to the man who had protected him single handedly. The Baron's eco experiment, no doubt. In the end, the war with the metal heads was the Baron's doing. And so was the creation of a monstrous man. He may have paid her better than she had ever been paid working anywhere else, but was that really worth it?

Sighing, Senra stood up.

The girl stopped mid sentence.

"Sorry," Senra mumbled before taking her food to the trash and exiting the lunch room without a further explanation.

She told her commanding officer something about being sick from the food she'd eaten. It wouldn't have been a far stretch of truth. He begrudgingly let her leave after she convinced him that she couldn't be on patrol at the palace where a heavy guard was stationed. She argued that one less soldier wouldn't make a difference and he finally agreed after he found someone to take her place.

She knew that she was pushing her luck in taking a day off when she was still relatively new. A little less than a year and she'd already become sick of it. She chided herself for being so overly dramatic with Tess the previous night. So what? She suggested joining the underground. Like that was really _that_ shocking and emotionally upsetting.

* * *

Instead of driving home, she drove straight for the Hip Hog.

Tess hadn't started her shift yet, but Senra waited, seated in a corner, hoping that the blonde would walk in soon. Every time the door opened, she snapped her head up to see if it was Tess. She was hoping to ask her for more information. But what she secretly wanted was for someone to give her a nudge in the right direction. She'd spent so much time being unsure of herself throughout school that she and Tess had made fast friends. Tess had offered to help out the shy girl and had even embarassed her on multiple occasions. Senra smirked as she recalled one day when Tess dragged her around the school grounds asking random boys if they would go out with Senra. It had been mortifying. But following instead of leading was comforting in the way that it meant being less responsible for one's own actions. She signed at the holes in her logic and sipped her drink, reminding herself not to drive tonight. Which would mean walking. All the way back to her apartment.

The door opened and she glanced up for about the eighth time, hoping that Tess would show up half an hour early for her shift. Which was unlikely.

To her surprise, it was none other than the Baron's eco experiment. She couldn't remember what his name was.

She kept her head down and tried to cover her face with her hair, hoping to go unnoticed. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky.

The orange rat literally announced her presence. "Hey! It's that guard who let us off easy. She ain't so bad to look at either, ey Jak?"

Senra rolled her eyes and then felt a trace of fear as the duo began walking towards her.

"Why'd you help us?"

She kept her face down, hoping that he would just go away.

"Jak," The rat practically sang. "Asked you a question!" His voice was so loud.

"Probably because I didn't want to get killed," she growled, finally looking up to see his face. Up close he looked normal. There wasn't anything that looked particularly threatening about him. Blonde hair, a goatee, blue and expressive eyes. She focused on his eyes, hoping that she could figure out what he was thinking by judging his reaction.

He sat himself down across from her. "Tess says that you're not happy with the guard. You know what happens to those who defect."

"Yeah," she snapped. "But what are you even getting at?"

"Sheesh! I guess bad attitudes must be a requirement for the KG." The rat gave her a funny expression and she scowled in response.

"I don't know. I was honestly just trying to figure out if you have any other motives for helping me."

"Watching you brutally murder the members of my squad wasn't motivation enough?" Her eyes fixed on his accusingly.

He flinched slightly but pressed on. "We're fighting a war here. I don't know what you expect. But everyone in this city can't wait for us to pussyfoot around this situation."

"Right," she mumbled, taking another sip of her drink. "Not all of them are bad you know..." Her voice trailed off and she met his eyes again.

He looked suspicious and guarded, like he knew what she was going to say next.

"A lot of those guards you kill are just people trying to support their families by doing the only job that they know will pay them a decent wage in this town."

His lips tightened. "I'm sorry, but I can't wait around for them to make up their mind on what side they're on. Especially when they stand in the way of rescuing my friends." He stood up. "You know, it would be nice if the Baron would stop throwing so many soldiers at the problem and would come up with real solutions, but we all know that isn't going to happen any time soon."

Something about the specific wording of his sentence made something click in her brain. "Wait, you mean... you freed the captives?"

He nodded and crossed his arms, trying to look imposing while standing above her.

"In the palace? Where dozens of guards were?"

He nodded again, not meeting her eyes this time. Was he actually ashamed?

"Did... Did you... kill them?"

He didn't answer. Simply met her gaze with an unreadable expression.

She tightened her lips and looked into his eyes. She found herself nodding, slowly. "I guess that makes sense..." She mumbled, her mind spinning rapidly. "But... Shit. I was almost there tonight. I had been stationed there..."

She met his eyes again and knew she didn't need to explain herself.

If she hadn't faked being sick, she would have been killed by him, specifically.

She took another drink, processing the thought. This time she gulped the whole drink down. "I guess fate's one hell of mistress..." She muttered, setting the glass down carefully. "I left early, pretending to be sick and some poor bastard took my place."

She wasn't looking at him, but she could see him awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

"You don't have to stay. I'm... just going to be here if there was anything else you... well, anything else you wanted to tell me or ask me or... I dunno. Whatever." She swished the ice cubes in the empty glass, feeling her head grow fuzzy from both the alcohol and the convenient coincidence.

"Sorry," He mumbled, stepping away carefully, trying to not seem too eager as he moved to talk with someone on the other side of the room. Jesus Christ.


	3. Chapter 3: The Underground

**So, I'm bad at naming chapters, but we get to finally meet Torn here! He's totally my favorite character, hands down. Anyway, I hope you like it! Please review!**

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She was drinking heavily by the time Tess arrived. The Dark Warrior had left, waving slightly. She had gotten the vine that he wasn't an all bad person and had decided to judge him less harshly. She watched him go, the tiny rat clutching his shoulder loyally. She had argued the humanity of those in the KG, but what about eh humanity of those in the underground.

Tess noticed Senra clutching her empty glass and staring off into the distance. Krew had fallen asleep in his hover raft, thing and Tess took the opportunity to sit herself down across from the KG girl.

"What's on your mind?" She asked, casually leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands.

"What do you know about the underground?" Senra blurted.

Tess stared for a moment, guarded. "I don't know. Why?"

Inhaling, Senra explained. "I'm... I'm thinking of leaving the guard."

Tess offered a small smile but didn't respond besides that. She seemed to be waiting for more.

Senra popped an ice cube in her mouth and crunched it carefully before meeting Tess's eyes and explaining everything. She told her about the Baron's Eco deal gone wrong with the metal heads and how the situation was getting worse. She explained that metal heads were infiltrating the city every day and that she didn't think the Baron knew what he was doing. She also briefly explained the Baron's lack of regard for human life and the way he threw soldiers away on a whim. She explained the corruption in the ranks with the higher ups threatening their subordinates to comply because the guard was quickly running out of loyal soldiers. Tess had gotten her a few new drinks while she spoke and she felt herself getting angrier and angrier as the alcohol coursed through her veins. She found it difficult to not yell and fought to keep her rage to a quiet, inconspicuous level.

In the end, Tess waited patiently until Senra ran out of things to say. The blonde then grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Hey Kit," Tess called out. A brown haired girl looked up from the sweeping she had been doing. "Could you cover for me? I'll be back as soon as I can."

The brunette widened her eyes in surprise but nodded.

"I wanna take you to meet someone," Tess whispered. "I told you that you shouldn't have joined the guard in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah," Senra muttered as the blonde led her to a two seater zoomer. She stumbled into it and let Tess take the driver's seat.

She watched lazily from the passenger seat as they drove through the city, passing through the industrial district and eventually exiting into the slums.

The sandy ground passed by without her questioning where they were going. She trusted Tess. Always had.

When they came to a stop, Senra looked around. They were by some fork in the road.

"Gotta take you in blindfolded here!" Tess said chipperly.

Senra snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." Tess produced a bandana from her pocket and grinned impishly as she tied it around Senra's eyes. "Don't worry. I won't walk you into walls or anything."

"Haha," Senra grumbled, not putting up a fight as her friend pushed her along.

They made several turns and seemed to walk for only a few blocks before Senra heard a door opening. She felt the air still as she was led inside a building and out of the musty air of the slums.

Tess removed her blindfold after the door shut behind them. Senra looked around in the dim light. There were bunks around her that seemed to be communal and ahead of her sat a tiny work area with maps and a table nestled in the centre of the room. And there stood the infamous Torn and the dark warrior, Jak.

She glanced nervously at Tess as both of the men stared her down.

"C'mon," Tess whispered, a comforting smile on her face as she wrapped an arm around Senra's shoulders and led her down the stairs.

The two girls made it to the bottom of the stairs and Torn crossed his arms, taking several steps closer.

"Who's this?" He growled.

Senra fought back the urge to snap a retort at him.

"This," Tess interrupted. "Is Senra. She's an old friend of mine and I've finally convinced her to leave the KG."

Torn let out a chuckle. "You sure she isn't a spy?"

"I'm sure." Tess's clear voice was confidant.

In the momentary pause in the conversation, the orange rat jumped from Jak's shoulder to Tess's arms. They greeted each other fondly and Senra awkwardly looked away.

Torn was still eying her suspiciously. His face had all the roughness of a seasoned veteran and he currently wore an almost angry or hostile expression.

Senra swallowed, trying to think of what to say. She glanced back at Tess, but she was busy rubbing noses with the orange thing.

She caught Jak's eyes.

He took a step forward and, thankfully, came to her rescue. "She's helped me before," He informed Torn. "When I was escorting the kid. She let me go and didn't attack me once."

"That doesn't count as helping." Torn's voice was an angry rasp.

Senra felt Tess's presence beside her and she gave the girl a tiny smile. Tess returned the smile and absently scratched the rodent under the chin.

"I know," Jak sighed. "But I think she's better than most KG officers I've met."

Senra sighed, the alcohol making her a little braver. Not by much, but enough. "You've been in the Guard before," She began coolly. "I don't need to tell you about how the chain of command is corrupt to ensure loyalty from those who don't agree with the Baron's practices." Wait, was she really going through with this? She hadn't made up her mind entirely, but now that she was here... There was no going back. She squared her shoulders and continued. "I've never agreed with the things that go on in this city. I thought I could ignore all of that, however and that things might one day turn out okay. I just wanted a place to call home and enough money to live comfortable. I was selfish and that has gotten to me."

Torn's face didn't change as she explained her situation.

"She's complained every step of the way," Tess added, trying to be helpful.

There was a light snicker from Jak on her other side. She didn't know how it happened, but the three of them (four if you counted the rodent) had rallied up and even Jak was on her side now. She didn't know what she had done to deserve his help, but she didn't want to question it too much in the moment.

Torn regarded her coolly. "Can you drive, and operate a gun without screwing it up?"

She tried to suppress a smile that crept on her lips. "Yes, I'm usually a pretty good shot. I'd prove it to you but..." She had been about to tell him that she was drunk but decided that probably wasn't the best idea for fear that he would doubt her resolve. Maybe she should be doubting her resolve. "I don't suppose now's the time. Considering how late it is."

Torn gave a curt nod and regarded her for a moment. "Tomorrow, I'm sending you on a mission with Jak to prove yourself. We were just attacked by blast bots and I'm tired of dealing with them."

She nodded, glancing towards Jak who shrugged. When she looked back at Torn, he was right in her face.

"If you slip up," He growled, jabbing a finger towards her. "Jak's here to take you out. If you mess up, I'm sure the bots or the guards will take you out. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this is risky. But this is what you're signing up for. If you've really got it in you, then you'll stick it out until the end. Dont. Mess. Up."

He backed off and turned his back to them dismissively, leaning over the table and studying the maps with his hands behind his back.

Senra swallowed.

"C'mon," Tess said cheerily. "Let's get you a bunk. There's no going back to your apartment now."

Senra sighed. She would miss all the sweets she had stashed there and the countless trinkets she had collected over the months.

Tess locked arms with her and led her over to the bunks.

"At least he likes you," Tess chirped, pointing to Torn.

Senra rolled her eyes. "Yeah right."

"No really. He went easy on you. Maybe it's because you're from the Guard too and he knows where you're coming from." Tess swung herself into the top bunk of one of the beds and patted the side of the frame to indicate that Senra should sleep in the bottom bunk..

Senra noticed that Jak had selected a bunk as well and pulled the blankets over himself. There were also a few other sleeping bodies that she hadn't noticed before.

The rodent scurried its way over to Tess's bunk and climbed the post to snuggle next to the blonde.

Staring at the underside of the bunk, Senra tried to process what had happened. Her mind was spinning and reeling from all that had occurred in the last few hours.

She rolled onto her side and tried to calm her thoughts.

She heard Tess and the rodent talking quietly when Tess suddenly shouted, "Keep it down Torn! We're trying to sleep over here!"

There was no response from the silent man, but the ottsel and Tess giggled anyway.

Senra smiled lightly and got comfortable in the soft bedding.


End file.
